Jam Session

[elliotsmelliot]

Hello again! I hope everyone has been having a great summer (or in you're in the Southern hemisphere - a tolerable winter!) After a mini-hiatus, we're about to get started here at the Quill again with our weekly posts and challenges. Thanks to everyone who volunteered to lead a discussion this month and later on

Comments

[angela_weber]

This is a great idea for discussion!

The vast majority of my titles originate in music--I think this naturally follows the fact that I often write with my iPod on, not really listening, just letting the songs shuffle around in my mind as I brainstorm. Sooner or later a lyric will pop out at me, and if I feel that it works, voila! This usually happens about halfway through the writing process, although I have been known to slap the title on as an afterthought immediately before posting.

I'm not particularly proud of any of my titles because most of them don't belong to me! There are a few here and there which I feel fit their respective fics particularly well, but again, not mine. I do like 'A World of Poems and Paintings,' from a song by Gregory & the Hawk, because I feel it is perfect for the AU construction of the fic and because it also plays well off a line about paintings in the body of the fic. I think the only title that I can really say I love is 'Peter and the Wolf', for a Mad Men fic, because Peter is not the wolf in this case--but again, not entirely mine!

My worst title ever is 'Too Late,' for a Merlin fluff-fest, which does not come from a song and which is easily the biggest cliche in fics about unrequited crushes, ever. This is one of those slapped-on-at-the-last-minute titles.

[angela_weber]

Oh! Also: I'm having so many problems with a J/J AU fic at the moment and I think what may be slowing me down is that I keep waffling around on the title. I keep going back to 'Plastic Trees and Paper Umbrellas,' which I got (the plastic trees part, at least) from a Radiohead song. I like it because it reflects the inherent fakeness of their situation. But I don't know. Maybe I'll just call it 'In Which the Submarine Does Not Blow Up.' ;)

[angela_weber]

Aw--thank you! That's so nice! And I'm really glad you like the umbrellas! :D I may end up just leaving it at that. I think I need to stop being lazy about titles. It will definitely help me feel better about writing in general.

[missy_useless]

I don't have enough time now - maybe I'll stop by again later - but:

In Which the Submarine Does Not Blow Up.

adgjfierhjbfd! I already love you, forever and ever. But that? Oh, my God. I am so looking forward to that fic. Oh, and I have to agree with Lenina: the title ('Plastic Trees and Paper Umbrellas' - or just 'Paper Umbrellas') is wonderful. :D

[angela_weber]

Yay, I'm so glad that you're looking forward to it! :D It's still giving me a lot of difficulty, but I've got 1500+ words--there's no way I'm giving up. Just, you know, don't hold your breath. ;) And thank you re: the title! This comment makes me so happy! :D

[elliotsmelliot]

My brain is too muddled to listen to music when I write. I need silence or at least quiet. I do listen to music when I'm not writing, and sometimes make a playlist that can me a soundtrack for a story or character.

I love that title for a Pete fic!

[angela_weber]

Music is really more like background sound for me, even white noise, when I'm writing. It's gotten to a point where I almost can't write without it. The dependence is a bit strange, I think, because I can't have music on at all when I'm studying or writing for school. But for whatever reason, it really helps my creative process along.

Thank you! :D

Hee--I love your icon.

[valhalla37]

See, I'm going to respectfully disagree because I also think it takes a special talent to know what other original content (lyrics or whatever) would work as a title, and be applicable to a story. I've seen some brutal titles in the sense of clearly they were just the author's favourite song, and were completely unconnected to the fic itself, or was just done in an attempt to be artsy or whatever.

'A World of Poems and Paintings' was great, PS.

[angela_weber]

That is a heartening way to think about it! :D And you're right--it isn't enough to find a title from a song just for the sake of having a title from a song. I haven't seen that much, but when I do it isn't pretty.

Thanks so much! :)